Free school meals

[Strawb1980]

Just had message from school: 'would you be interested in free breakfast and after school club in September'.
'Yes that would be great' I was about to text back.
Then another 'this is available if you're child is on free school meals'.
Also offering free summer activities for children on free school meals.
I work and I'm on a low income but still pay for my dc meals, breakfast and after school club would be a great help to me instead of relying on family to take/collect my dc whilst I'm working. Why do I feel that ppl working are often penalised for doing so?
AIBU to feel this way?

@Strawb1980

Nope not entitled. I earn minimum wage.

I'm in exactly the same position just above the £6k threshold or what ever it is of what you can earn before your not entitled so because we work more hours we can't get them although still single parent family low income it's just not right

How is she entitled? On a teacher's salary, she isnt entitled.
Is she a teaching assistant? Or some sort of teacher only working 1 day a week?

Once you are entitled to FSM you remain entitled through that phase of education. You could marry a millionaire or win the lottery and you would still be entitled. There is the option to pay for the meals though. We have a family where the (then) widowed mother was entitled when her twins joined the school in reception but married a fairly wealthy man a couple of years later. The children are still entitled but the Mum has chosen to pay for the meals and the extra funding received by the school can be used for other things.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland exactly. This is what I'm saying I do pay for breakfast club when I need it. In September I probs won't be able to use it cos of ppl using it just cos its been offered free, so I'm gonna be stuck without a place as it will be full.
@pointythings I'm not saying all parents i understand reasons for not being able to. However a LOT of parents in our school do not have these reasons

I think we need to remember that a lot of these facilities aren’t about (or just about) childcare. They’re about improving educational outcomes and meeting basic needs of children in a vulnerable group.

I am a single parent and don’t get any help from UC or FSM do I moan that someone who doesn’t work gets FSM? no because they’re obviously on a lower income than I am so need it more.
As someone who was on benefits I know how shit it is not only having no money but also the judgement you get from people who have no idea how good they’ve got it.

Not complaining that I pay... but why shouldn't I be offered also? After all I am going to work... not sat at home all day

Thanks for that I'm currently out of work through no fault of my own. Believe me when I say I'm trying to get back into work! DCs are currently on PP but I always end up topping it their lunch cards up because the FSM allowances barely covers it. I don't sit on my arse all day either.

OP, it might be worth you checking out one of the online benefit calculators to see if you would be better off on UC and getting FSM. People sometimes are.

And yes, any CAB would be able to check for you (as would almost any advice agency, we nearly all use the same software), but they are incredibly busy, and have long waits for appointments (3 months at one of the offices near me).

The online calculators are easy to use, imo entitledto is a bit more user-friendly.

www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/Intro/Home?cid=8058cd47-4ee5-4996-80ff-6a34b186cc9f

My SIL’s kids get FSM and she’s just bought her 17 year old a brand new car so it’s actually wrong to assume that everyone on FSM is on the breadline. And no she hasn’t worked in 14 years.

@PesoPenguin

My SIL’s kids get FSM and she’s just bought her 17 year old a brand new car so it’s actually wrong to assume that everyone on FSM is on the breadline. And no she hasn’t worked in 14 years.

How’d she afford a new car then if she doesn’t work and is eligible for FSM?

However a LOT of parents in our school do not have these reasons

How handy that you know the ins and outs of the finances of the people you’re judging

@LakieLady the threshold for fsm on UC is thousands of pounds lower than on tax credits.

I'm in exactly the same position just above the £6k threshold or what ever it is of what you can earn before your not entitled so because we work more hours we can't get them although still single parent family low income it's just not right

It's tough, @ivegotthisyeah, but whatever cut-off point is chosen, there will always be people who lose entitlement by a tiny margin. The only way of avoiding that is to make things like FSM etc universal, so everyone can get them.

I wouldn't be averse to that myself, but I doubt many people would vote for it because it would involve massive rises in taxation.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

Most families on fsm work.

On UC the family income limit is only 7,400 beyond which you are not eligible for FSM.

That means to get FSM you need to have one earning working fewer than 18 hours a week based on 48 working weeks a year.

The point being someone working so few hours (or with a sah partner) is far less likely to need wraparound care than someone working full time.

working less than 4 hours a day is not a job, is it, at best it's a hobby!

Again, it really is not right that the ones who don't get help are the ones who genuinely need it. Why should we encourage people to work so little, or not at all, but penalise the ones who do work?

@Strawb1980

Don't think ppl understand... I don't want fsm for my dc. All I was asking was why is everything for ppl on benefits? That's all... don't think its fair that I've been made out to be a horrible spiteful person cos I'm really not. No I would not like to see any child go hungry I just think its wrong the way things are done thats all

Well firstly you have suggested parents with children who are FSM are lazy and sat on their arse, I’m not sure why you think other workers on low wages are lazy yet you don’t see yourself as lazy as someone on low wages.

You complain about people on benefits getting additional support, yet you’re on benefits yourself.

How’d she afford a new car then if she doesn’t work and is eligible for FSM?

Motability car?

A distant relation was investigated by housing benefit because someone told the council she'd just bought a £15,000 car for her daughter.

Her daughter has a disability that isn't immediately obvious, and the car was her Motability car.

Op you earn more than people on Fsm. You’re expected to provide for your child, when people can’t the government steps in and does so. You can. There has to be a limit to thr free stuff.

working less than 4 hours a day is not a job, is it, at best it's a hobby!

Oof!! Let’s see how well the world functions if all those people stop doing those 4 hour a day “hobbies”.

@UhtredRagnarson

working less than 4 hours a day is not a job, is it, at best it's a hobby!

Oof!! Let’s see how well the world functions if all those people stop doing those 4 hour a day “hobbies”.

I agree. People who work these type of hours are often parents who need to fit into school hours and some of the worst paid.

How patronising to call them hobbies.

[quote MyDcAreMarvel]@LakieLady the threshold for fsm on UC is thousands of pounds lower than on tax credits.[/quote]
Yes, I realise that now. That's absurdly low. Yet another great way of shafting low-income families the Tories have come up with.

We do very little work with families, so not up on FSM. I'll make sure my colleagues are aware.

working less than 4 hours a day is not a job, is it, at best it's a hobby!

If your child is at school 9-3 you have basically exactly a maximum of 4 hours to work a day (unless you literally work next door to the school). This is called part time work. You work for half the time you would if you were full time and contributes a significantly to the economy. It's also a great way to stay in employment while the DC are small so you can work longer hours when they're older.

So you want to work and in addition to getting your son educated for free you want more freebies from the school?

OP and others who receive WTC, could change over to UC. They might get less actual money, but would get FSM and associated 'privileges'. I work 30 hours a week and get UC and am entitled to FSM. My son doesn't have them, but his school gets extra funding - because of his entitlement to FSM.
So, OP, someone could be working just as hard as you, earning the same, and getting FSM - but you're getting more than them in actual benefit payouts. You can't really complain that you want to keep your higher rate of benefits AND get the free stuff that people who get less in benefits than you do, get.

I was really upset when I had to claim FSM. I became a single parent and had no choice but I was working. I knew there would be judgey people out there. But do you know what not everyone who gets benefits Sits on their arses and expects it all so I YABU just for that comment alone.

And yes I now am in a much better situation but my child is still entitled to FSM

Pressed send too soon,

I don't think that is fair that my child gets FSM still when we really so not need it.

I agree OP.
I teach children who are home alone during the holidays and often in the evening and/or at weekends.
Their parent/s work but they are not at all wealthy and struggle to make ends meet.
They certainly don’t have disposable income for holiday clubs.
They are not entitled to PP/FSM. They earn ‘too much’.
Marginally I’d suspect.
Thankfully our school doesn’t rely on the government’s benefit calculator to identify ‘need’.